Mike Richards’ “Jeopardy!” Episodes Will Still Air Despite Him Stepping Down As Host
I wish someone would have invented the serum from Death Becomes Her prior to Alex Trebek‘s passing so he could go on forever and ever being the Jeopardy! host we all deserve. But unfortunately, after Alex advanced into that Final Jeopardy! round in the sky, producers shoveled more guest stars at us than an episode of The Love Boat. Eventually, it was announced that Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards got the main hosting job while Mayim Bialik was hired to host primetime specials and spin-offs. But Mike’s new cushy job didn’t last long after several not-so-flattering blasts from the past came to bite him in the ass. And yesterday, Mike announced that after one day on the job, he’s stepping down. But the five Jeopardy! episodes he hosted will see the light of day.
This really should come as no surprise since, in Hollywood, the show must go on. However TMZ reports that the reason they’ve decided to air Mike’s episodes has more to do with the contestants than trying to soften the blow against Mike’s tender feelings.
We’re told this decision was made by Sony Studios execs for a couple of reasons — first, to keep the continuity of the show and honor the contestants … and second, because one of these contestants was on an incredible hot streak before “Jeopardy!” went into its most recent hiatus.
Luckily for Mike, the episodes he hosted featured a contestant by the name of Matt Amodio who has been brutally beating buzzers down with his supreme knowledge by winning 18 games in a row, racking up almost $575,000 during his time on the show. Since Mike was the host during Matt Amodio’s Jeopardy! appearance, the producers decided not to disrupt the flow or punish the contestants. As a disclaimer, they’ll probably run a video prior to all of Mike’s episodes with someone saying “This guy is a dick. Don’t be like him“.
TMZ also reports that Mike will remain as an executive producer for now while Sony Studio executives evaluate his future with their company. More than likely they’ll just keep quiet until everything dies down because that seems like the standard response in these situations. But luckily they still have Mayim “Not An Anti-Vaxxer” Bialik ready to jump in like a game of double-dutch on the sidelines. Unless they really want to get creative and introduce a category called “90s Child Stars” where the first question leads to Mayim dancing her way into Jeopardy‘s new era dressed like Blossom singing “The sun is gonna surely shiiiinnneee!”
Pic: Sony Pictures Television